Rail-joint.



No. 839,715; PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906- T. BOWEN.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2B, 1906.

WITNESSES v H V l/VVE/VTOH Arrom/E rs central web 1 of the rail.

THOMAS BOWVEN, OF GROVE CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed August 28, 1906. Serial No. 332,332.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS BowEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Grove City, in the county of Mercer and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Rail-Joint, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to rail-joints for securing together the meeting ends of railwayrails, and has for its object to provide means adapted to clamp the ends of the rails firmly and hold them evenly together at all times, thereby preventing the ends of the rails from sagging and becoming worn by the consequent pounding of cars passing over them. Such objects I accomplish by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of .a rail-joint embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a joint embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a locking-wedge, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a clamping-plate.

As illustrated in the drawings, 1 and 1" represent two adjacent rails having a vertical central web 1 and a base-flange 1 of ordinary construction. The ends of the rails 1 and 1 are supported upon a chair 2, having oppositely-disposed aws or flanges 2 and 2. The jaw 2 is provided with a vertical wall 2 which bears against the vertical The opposite jaw 2 is provided with a vertically-inclined inner wall 2 The chair 2 is supported upon and adapted to be secured to a cross-tie 3. A clamping-plate 4 is arranged within a transverse recess formed in the chair by the in clined wall of the jaw 29 and is approximately triangular in cross section, and thereby adapted on one side to bear against the vertical webs 1 of the rails and the base-flanges 1 of the adjacent rails. lVhen so constructed and arranged, the face 4 of the clamping late 4 is arranged opposite to the inclined wall 2 of the jaw 2 and parallel therewith, but apart therefrom, so as to enable lockingwedges 5 to be driven into said recess between the clamping-plate and the inner inclined wall 2 of the jaw 2 of the chair, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The wedges 5 are extended in length so as to overlap each other when in position, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The inner angular side of the clampingplate 4 may, if desired, be provided with an offset lug 4", adapted to extend between the meeting ends of said rails, and a head 5 may be formed on one side of the wedges 5, so as to enable said wedges to be conveniently driven with a sledge between the clampingplate 4 and the inner wall of the jaw 2 of the chair 2. The lower edges of the wedges 5 bear directly on the bottom of the recess formed in the chair 2. By means of such construction and arrangement of the parts the meeting ends of the two adjacent rails are clamped firmly together without the aid of bolts or nuts and are permanently held in place without sagging. The Wedges 5 are held firmly in position by means of a tensioning device which bears against the head 5 of the wedges. This device consists of a guiderod 6, freely connected with a staple 6, secured to the side of the chair 2 and provided with a curved end which engages said staple. The opposite end of the guide-bar 6 supports a yoke 6 which is secured in place on the bar 6 by means of a transverse key 6. The arms of the yoke 6 extend around and firmly clamp the base-flange 1 of the rail, as shown in Fig. 3. The yoke 6 is provided with an aperture adapted to receive the end of a guide-bar 6 extending parallel with the guide-bar 6. The inner end of the guide-bar 6 is provided with a yoke 6 having vertical arms 6*. (Shown in Fig. 4.) The arms 6 of the yoke 6 bear against the heads 5 of the wedges 5. A spiral spring 6 is mounted upon the guide-bars 6 and 6 and bears at one end against the yoke 6, which is rigidly secured to th 1 ottom flange 1 of the rail, and the opposite end of said spring bears against the yoke 6, which is secured to the upper guide-bar 6 The guide-bar 6 moves freely in the aperture of the yoke 6, and the lower portion of the yoke 6 is provided with an aperture adapted to have a sliding engagement with the guide-bar 6, thereby permitting the yoke 6 to move lengthwise of the base-flange 1 of the rails to a limited extent and to be pressed firmly against the ends of the wedges 5 by the tension of the spring 6 If from any cause, therefore, the wedges 5 should become loose, the loose motion ICC sitions on a road-bed, but is especially eflective when used on short bends or turns, for

the reason that the tension device prevents the clamping parts from working loose under all conditions and locks such parts firmly to gether, at the same time allowing for the expansion and contraction of the rails. When it is desired to replace a broken or worn-out rail, the rail may be readily disconnected .from thesupporting-chair by moving backward the yoke 6 so as to release the wedges 5 from engagement with the chair. WVhen the end of the new rail has been inserted in the chair 2, the clamping-plate 4 may be adjust ed in position and the wedges 5 driven firmly in place and held there by means of the arms 6 of the yoke 6 As shown and described herein, a clamping-plate and wedge are secured to but one side of the meeting ends of the rails. It is obvious, however, that instead of providing the opposite flange or 2" with a vertical wall 2 such flange may be constructed similar to the flange 2, having a vertically-inclined wall 2 and a similar clamping-plate, and overlapping wedges may be applied to the opposite side of the meeting ends of the rails.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail-joint comprising a chair having a flange provided with a vertical wall adapted to bear against the web of a rail, an oppositely-disposed flange having an inclined wall, a clamping-plate adapted to bear against the web and base-flange of the meeting ends of two rails, and wedges adapted to be inserted at the opposite ends of said chair between the inclined wall thereof and the side of said plate, with their upper edges bearing against the head of said rail, substantially as shown and described.

2. A rail-joint comprising a chair having a flange provided with a vertical wall adapted to bear against the Web of a rail, an oppositely-disposed flange having a vertically-inclined wall spaced from said web, a clampingplate adapted to bear against the web and base-flange of the meeting ends of two rails, and provided with an offset lug'adapted to extend between the ends of said rails, and Wedges ada ted to be inserted at the o posite ends 0' said chair between the inc med the meeting ends of two rails, and provided with an inclined outer side, overlapping wedges adapted to be inserted from the opposite ends of said chair between the inclined wall of said flange and the side of said plate, and a tensioning device adapted to bear against and hold said wedges in place, substantially as shown and described.

4. A rail-joint comprising a chair having a flange rovided with a vertically-inclined wall, a c amping-plate adapted to bear against the vertical web and base-flange of the meeting ends of two rails and provided with an inclined outer side, overlapping wedges adapted to be inserted from opposite ends of said chair between the inclined wall of said flange and the side of said plate, and a tensioning device consisting of a guide-rod flexibly see cured at one end to said chair, a yoke secured to the opposite end of said guide-rod, and rigidly secured to the base-flange of a rail, a yoke mounted on said guide-rod and movable lengthwise thereof and adapted to bear against said wedges, a guide-rod secured to said yoke, and a spring mounted on said guide-rods bearing against said yokes, substantially as shown and described.

5. A rail-joint comprising a chair having a flange provided with a vertically-inclined wall, a clamping-plate adaptedto bear against the web and base-flange of the meeting ends of two rails, and provided with an inclined outer side, overlapping wedges adapted to be inserted from opposite ends of said chair between the side of said plate and the inclined wall of said flange, a tensioning device consisting of a guide-rod flexibly secured to said chair, a yoke secured to the opposite end of said guide-rod and rigidly secured to the base flange of a rail, a yoke mounted to slide on said guide-bar and adapted to bearagainst the ends of said wedges, and a spring mounted on said guide-bar and adapted to bear at its ends against said yokes, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS BOWEN.

Witnesses:

H. L. FILER, JosEPH SMITH. 

